


it is not good for water to be so still

by TheRangress



Series: Vignettes [3]
Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: M/M, Selkie AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 10:20:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13901985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRangress/pseuds/TheRangress
Summary: Renarin knows what love means for a selkie.





	it is not good for water to be so still

The moon ripples on the dark sea, and two young men sitting on the dock dip their feet in it.

“I want you to have this,” says Renarin.

Kaladin doesn’t understand until the cloak is draped over his shoulders. It’s a soft sealskin, midnight black with patches of pale moonlight.

“Renarin.” He’s always been shy of touching Renarin’s second skin, so he takes it from his shoulders with a rare reverence. “I’d never ask for your skin.”

“And that’s why you deserve this.” Renarin is looking at the water, silently kicking his legs in it. His sleeves and trousers are rolled up, exposing the slim muscle of his limbs, his warm golden skin. “This isn’t about power or trying to control me. It’s about trust, and love, and me promising you I will never leave.”

“You can love me, and keep this.”

Kaladin tries to hand the cloak back, but Renarin refuses. He hangs his head, remembering the first moment he saw Renarin— a seal, beautiful and clumsy, who didn’t know how to swim.

“Your father took this from you, and now you ask me to do the same?”

“It’s not the same. I’m choosing this.” He knocks one foot into Kaladin’s, a soft acknowledgment as Renarin folds into himself. “I love you, and this is what I have to offer.”

“Just you is enough.” He kicks back, and marvels again how Renarin’s skin is so warm in the cold water. “I don’t ask to control you, and I never will. What does love mean if it isn’t free?”

“I’m free now, aren’t I?” Renarin tilts his head away, wet hair clinging to his neck. “And this— isn’t it what love is? Giving until you run dry?”

“ _No_ , Renarin.” He gently strokes the sealskin. In the months since Dalinar had finally returned it, Renarin had learned the sea. That night he had leapt and spun, then lain on the beach with his fins flapping wildly. What greater beauty was there? Renarin’s strength, his dedication, loving the sea and loving himself. “It’s about holding on. I don’t need this, because I don’t fear you leaving. We’ll hold on strong enough nothing could break us, and if you ask then I will let you go.”

“I don’t ever want you to let go. That’s why I’m giving you this.”

“Well, if that’s what you want, you could just _marry me—_ ” Kaladin stops.

Renarin is silent, and Kaladin watches the moon grow still in the water.

“How about that instead, then?” he asks, quietly. “Keep your skin. Marry me. You can give me that. You’ll be my husband, and I’ll be yours. Equal. Not this… _slavery._ Don’t cage yourself for me, Renarin.”

He still doesn’t speak, but he takes Kaladin’s hand and holds tight.

“You don’t _need_ a cage,” Kaladin whispers. “Wherever you want to go, I’ll follow you, if you let me. The way I hold my breath and swim with you.”

Slowly, with clumsy hands, Renarin takes the sealskin and drapes it over both of them, pulling Kaladin into his arms.

“I’ll marry you,” he says. “And… I’ll keep this. But…”

“But?” he asks, pressing a kiss to Renarin’s forehead.

“How could a seal wear a wedding ring?”


End file.
